


The Last Hope

by batsy22



Series: The Resistance Trilogy [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: A New Hope AU, AU where the Empire wins, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Anti-Fascism, Character Death, Clone Wars, Death Star, F/F, F/M, Gen, Heavy Angst, Jedi, Jedi Leia Organa, Psychological Trauma, Rebel Alliance, Sith, Torture, Vader as horror monster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:12:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9603458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsy22/pseuds/batsy22
Summary: A long time ago in a galaxy far far away,It is a time of turmoil. The evil Galactic Empire has smashed all resistance to its tyrannical reign after using its secret weapon, the Death Star, to destroy the Rebel Alliance at its Yavin IV base.But hope is not yet lost. No longer able to fight, Princess Leia Organa has faked her defection, using her new position to resist the Empire from within. Princess Leia, with the help of a notorious smuggler, a wookie, a rebel freedom-fighter from the former Separatist world of Murkhana, and a former Jedi of Old, fights against the tyranny of the Empire. But the Dark Lord of the Sith, the dreaded Darth Vader, haunts Leia's every step, and Leia is soon put in more danger than she has every known.Leia Organa may not realize it yet, but she may be the galaxy’s last hope.





	

**Author's Note:**

> In memory of the incredible Carrie Fisher
> 
> tw/cw: torture, ptsd, family loss

Leia was so close. Just a few more minutes and they would have reached Tatooine. But the  _Devastator_ had caught up to them as soon as they moved out of lightspeed. The  _Tantive IV_ stood no chance against a Star Destroyer, and it wasn't long until they were disabled. 

Vader and his stormtroopers were coming. Leia knew she was going to be captured. But the information she was carrying simply had to reach her father. The Rebellion would not survive otherwise. 

She could use her diplomatic immunity to stall but even that would not save her this time. So she sent Captain Antilles's droids, an R2 unit and a protocol droid, to deliver a message to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the illusive Jedi Knight, on the planet below. 

She may have been doomed, but the Rebellion would live on. 

* * *

 The  _Devastator's_ scanners were picking up another escape pod from the rebel ship.  

“There goes another one”

“Scanners show no lifeforms aboard.”

“Destroy it anyway. We can’t risk anything getting through.”

 “Yes sir.”

* * *

 They tortured her. Injected her with drugs. All to get her to reveal the location of the Rebel base. 

Luckily, Father had taught her, in extensive detail, about Imperial interrogation techniques and how to resist them. She told them nothing of value. 

Leia's one solace was the message she had sent. While she may have been trapped here, Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom her father had said was one of the greatest of the Jedi Knights, was ensuring the Death Star plans reached Yavin IV. 

So long as that happened, Leia did not care what happened to her. 

* * *

 "I grow tired of asking so this will be the last time.  _Where is the Rebel base?"_

Tarkin stood close to her now, his cold, dead eyes bearing into her. 

Leia looked at her homeworld, a planet that had billions of people on it. She also thought of the explosion she had witnessed on Scarif, which evidently was only a fraction of this station's true power. 

She couldn't betray the Rebellion, but she couldn't betray her people either. 

"Dantooine. They're on Dantooine." 

Tarkin's lips curled upwards in what resembled a smile. 

"See Lord Vader, I told you she could be reasonable. Continue with the operation, you may fire when ready." 

Leia's entire world came to a stop at those words. 

"You're far too trusting. Dantooine is far too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry, we will deal with your rebel friends soon enough." 

The next moments were burned into Leia's memory for the rest of her life. 

She thought of Father. 

She thought of Mother. 

She thought of the home she grew up in. 

All of that was gone in a mere instant. 

There were several things Leia would remember above all else.

She would remember not feeling sad or hopeless, at least not at first, but instead feeling completely empty. 

She would remember the cold, inhuman hand that held her in place. 

But most of all, she would remember the slight smirk on Tarkin's face as he slaughtered billions. 

* * *

They had found that the base at Dantooine had been abandoned for some time. Tarkin had ordered her execution after finding out. 

Leia was resigned to her fate, her only hope that her deception had bought the Alliance a bit more time. But her death never came. 

She would later find out that the Emperor himself had delayed her execution. Apparently, he thought she could still be of use to the Empire. 

Torture had not gotten her to reveal the secrets of the Rebellion. But the Emperor had something far worse in store for her. 

* * *

 Her father had prepared her for nearly every interrogation technique used by the Empire. But even he could not prepare her for Darth Vader. 

“You will only prolong your suffering if you do not tell me the location of the rebel base.”

Vader raised his fist and her windpipe began to close.

“I-am-not-afraid-of-you,” she barely managed to choke out. The words were lies.

“You will be.”

* * *

 Leia did not know how long she had been in her cell. Perhaps it had been hours or perhaps it had been months. The only thing she was sure of was the pain.

The physical pain she had been trained to handle. The visions were a different story.

They always started with the voices.

_You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor_

_We’re a peaceful planet_

_See Lord Vader I told you she could be reasonable_

_Hope_

_You may fire when ready_

There was Alderaan- her home- engulfed in fire. Her parents were there, begging and begging her to help them as they burned to a crisp. She could only watch as everything and everyone she ever loved was ripped away.  

Then, there would be nothing- nothing but terror, hatred, _agony._ She was alone- alone in a place where her family, Mon, and Obi-Wan Kenobi could not help her.

In this place, there was no hope. There was only Vader.

* * *

K _enobi will deliver the plans. Then, this will all be worth it._

It was a thought Leia repeated to herself constantly in her brief moments of lucidity.  

But as time went on, that thought became less and less convincing. The hope she had once held onto had been completely consumed by Vader.

It was here, in her darkest moment, where Leia did something she would never forgive herself for.

She told him the location of their base.

* * *

They dragged her to the bridge as Death Star and the Imperial Fleet approached Yavin IV. The last time she had been here, she had stood defiant. Now, she was dragged in shackles, paraded around as some Imperial trophy.

Leia had been part of the Rebellion since she was a child. She had spent her entire life recruiting for the Rebellion, negotiating on its behalf, and yes, picking up a blaster and fighting when it was necessary.

She watched as the Empire destroyed all of it in just a few minutes.

 _This is my fault,_ was her first thought.

 _I’ll make them suffer,_ was her second.

* * *

_The Empire had found them._

It was a moment Mon Mothma had prepared for over a year. Still nothing could have prepared her for the sight of the Death Star growing ever bigger in the sky. 

They tried to evacuate as many as possible, but the Imperial fleet had cut off their evacuation routes. Most of the Alliance was not getting off the moon alive. 

The scene on the ground was complete panic. Pilots scrambled to their ships only to be shot down as soon as they left the atmosphere.  

Mon Mothma was not among those trying to escape. No, she would not simply leave all the people who had fought and sacrificed for a better future. They all deserved better than that. 

She was reminded of how this all began, when Bail, Padmé, and herself had made the decision to defy the then-Chancellor Palpatine. They had created an alliance of systems to prevent him from further subverting the Republic's Constitution. After the Purge, that alliance took on a much more necessary role, the preservation of the Republic itself.  

The Alliance was nothing major at first. A few interrupted Imperial cargo runs was all they could hope for. But then they recruited Ahsoka Tano, the first Fulcrum, and they suddenly were able to communicate with rebel cells all across the galaxy. The Rebellion had grown bigger than she could have ever imagined. 

Now, as the Death Star completely eclipsed the Sun, Mon Mothma finally understood that they never stood a chance.

* * *

They moved her from her cell to an interrogation room. Father had told her about these. The Empire called them “Reeducation modules” and used them to brainwash their political enemies.

She was ready for that. What she was not ready for the Emperor himself to be waiting for her.

She hated the Emperor more than any other being in the galaxy. His silver tongue did not fool her like it did so many others, for she had seen first-hand the death and destruction he and his pets gleefully left in their wake. There was not a single shred of goodness in him.

Now, because of her, he had won.

She was shackled to the wall, alone in the room with the Emperor. His yellow eyes stared into her own, as if they were looking into her very soul.

“I must say my dear, I was most disappointed to find out that you had betrayed your Empire.”

She said nothing. 

“But I suppose it matters not, for the information you provided was quite critical to our success.”

She spat in his face.

“I don’t care how much power you think you have, it’s our will to be free that’s going to beat you.” She wasn’t quite sure if that was true anymore.

He let out a short cackle, slowly moving closer to her.

“Do you know how long it took for you to confess to Lord Vader?” he smiled, moving so that he was mere inches away from her. 

She flinched as she felt his breath on her cheek.

_“One day.”_

Leia felt her heart almost stop at those words. That was impossible right? It had certainly been several weeks at least.

Or was it?

Had she been that weak?

The Emperor continued smiling at her.

“Well, I am most grateful that you did confess to Lord Vader. Because of your _courage_ , the Rebellion is most certainly no longer a threat to peace anymore.”

Leia tried to think some defiant words that she could hold onto. But she found nothing.

* * *

The Empire had taken everything from her.

Her family. Her home. Her people. And now the Rebellion was gone as well.

There was nothing for her anymore.  

It would be so easy to slip into complete despair. To become the broken woman they already saw her as.

But she couldn’t – _wouldn’t_ – let that happen. Not when there was work to be done.

As time continued to pass, and she continued to be subjected to Imperial brainwashing, her mind turned to a rather unusual subject.

Galen Erso.

For most of her life, she viewed Erso as an enemy. A deeply immoral man who built all sorts of terrors for the Empire. But in the days before her capture, she was informed that he was not that man at all.

Like her, the Empire had taken everyone he loved away from him. But instead of fighting, he did what they wanted until he was able to take his revenge. The flaw in the Death Star.

Fighting was no longer an option for Leia. But perhaps that was not the answer.  

So like Galen, she faked her cooperation. She played that broken woman they wanted. Let them fill her mind with their propaganda. 

They thought she would serve them. And in a way she would.

But none of them knew the truth.

One day, she would have her revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter! This was the first piece I've been comfortable publishing so I'd love any feedback. 
> 
> I also currently don't have a beta-reader so I apologize for any grammar mistakes.


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